Basin operators praise thoroughness of shale study

PBPA president: ‘The fears promoted by opponents of the industry have been debunked’

By Mella McEwen mmcewen@mrt.com, Midland Reporter-Telegram

Updated 10:36 pm, Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff

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The report’s findings that hydraulic fracturing has not contaminated the state’s ground water and is unlikely to contaminate the water, and that the technology does not cause earthquakes largely vindicates the industry, Shepperd said. less

The report’s findings that hydraulic fracturing has not contaminated the state’s ground water and is unlikely to contaminate the water, and that the technology does not cause earthquakes largely vindicates ... more

Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff

Basin operators praise thoroughness of shale study

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Members of the Permian Basin oil and gas industry are generally applauding this week’s release of a comprehensive review of the impact of oil and gas development on Texas.

Craig Pearson, who joined the Railroad Commission as a seismologist and serves as the agency’s director of its District 8 and 8A -- covering the Midland and Lubbock areas -- served on the task force that wrote the report.

“The study is designed to look at the current state of knowledge and put it in one, easy-to-access report,” Pearson said.

He said having the one comprehensive report should improve decision making.

It took the task force two years to compile the report, he said.

“Every member of the task force had to concur with the findings. It got a good internal review as well as an external review,” Pearson said. “I think it’s a fair report.”

“We’re pleased with the results and that it is so comprehensive,” Shepperd said in a phone interview. “The fears promoted by opponents of the industry have been debunked.”

The report’s findings that hydraulic fracturing has not contaminated the state’s ground water and is unlikely to contaminate the water, and that the technology does not cause earthquakes largely vindicates the industry, Shepperd said.

Jeff Sparks, chief operating officer with Discovery Operating and a member of the Midland City Council, said, “I thought they were very factual and in places admitted when they did not have enough facts to validate one way or the other. What they did say was there is not any case where fracturing treatment polluted the water.”

Sparks said he was doing hydraulic fracturing in the 1980s, and his father, Don, was doing it in the 1960s. The industry currently is putting a lot of effort into finding sources of water for hydraulic fracturing that eliminates the need for fresh water, whether it’s recycled water or brackish water, he said.

Sparks also praised the report for helping point out some things the industry is doing well, such as reducing its surface footprint through the increased use of horizontal drilling.

Shepperd said the “study validates much of what we’ve been saying.”

He said the increased use of natural gas continues to decrease oil field emissions and is helping improve the state’s air quality “despite the fact more people are moving into Texas.”

He cited recent changes to Railroad Commission rules regarding cementing integrity to prevent casing leaks, that encourage the recycling and reuse of produced or flowback water, and that tighten regulation of injection wells near areas of possible seismic activity.

Pearson said the state does contain faults, but few are likely to cause earthquakes, though there are some stressed faults that could be triggered by the pressure of water injection.

“We’re learning where they are, and with better data from TexNet, we hope that, along with the Railroad Commission’s new rules on injection wells we can mitigate most, if not all, of those minor quakes,” he said.

Sparks said additional studies are underway utilizing equipment paid for in large part by the state’s oil and gas industry.

The report’s overriding conclusion -- that more information is needed and the various factions of the industry and government agencies need to find better ways to share what information is available -- is true, Shepperd said.

There needs to be improvement in how the various groups share information, and there are probably some holes in the data that has not been collected, Sparks said.

“There’s not a one-stop shop,” Shepperd said. “It’s a complicated industry,” and the sheer volume of oversight of the industry makes it hard to put together such a one-stop shop.

Much of the report’s findings were already known, but the industry agrees that further studies are necessary, Shepperd said.

“We’ll continue to do a better job,” he said. “We can do better, and we’ll do what it takes to protect the environment, and this report illustrates that.”